REDMOND, OR -- Redmond's five-term Mayor, George Endicott, faces opposition in November from a former Mayor. Ed Fitch runs a local law group and says he’s grown frustrated, in recent years, with what he believes is the city’s lack of action on big issues, like congestion on South Highway 97. "We need to identify and preserve a corridor for the south half of the reroute in Redmond. We also need to come to – we’ve been working for six or seven years now on addressing the existing Highway 97; it’s getting worse every year. And, we’re running out of patience, in terms of getting some solutions done."

He says, if elected, he would also address what he sees is a lack of variety in Redmond's housing inventory, "I think we’re getting out of balance, with creating neighborhoods instead of just having more and more tract – call it ‘cheaper’ subdivisions. We need some of those, but we also need some more balance, in terms of how we’re creating neighborhoods and just approving whatever a developer comes in and puts on the table." He also wants to help clear the way so Central Oregon Community College could expand its Redmond campus, near the Redmond Airport.

Fitch was City Attorney for 19 years before he was elected mayor in 1999. He resigned from his seat in 2001 for what he calls "personal reasons." But, he says he's stayed active in the city, serving on several committees and commissions over the years. He tells KBND News he wants his old job back because it's the best position to help move the city forward, "Based on the experience I’ve had before and as City Attorney, when you try and put coalitions together, people will want to work with the Mayor; I mean, that’s just what happens. Not that it has any veto power, or anything like that, but when you’re dealing with other representatives from either the state, local or federal, they look to the Mayor for guidance."